Amid the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has released a statement accusing the Pakistani government, its army and intelligence agencies of being “traitors” who have betrayed Kashmiris and allowed their wounds to fester for their “own vested interests”. It also called on Muslims of the subcontinent to “distinguish between friends and foe” and between “the sympathisers and the selfish”. In a message to Muslims of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, titled ‘Jihad of Kashmir: A Call to Reflection & Action’, the outfit’s spokesperson Ustadh Usama Mahmood said, “History testifies to the fact that fighting under the supervision and with the cooperation of Pakistani agencies is tantamount to wasting the fruitage of jihad and getting injustice on oppressed Kashmiris to increase.” “My dear Kashmiri brothers… is it not time that we say goodbye to those who have asserted sympathy and well-wishes, and yet want the Kashmir dispute to remain a dispute. Whether they be Satan’s parliament in the form of the UN, or traitors of the ummah in the form of the Pakistani military and government, the issue of oppressed Kashmiris is no more than a dirty game, and an ugly trade for these corrupt people,” the AQIS spokesperson said. The 11-page message, released in English, Hindi, Bengali and Urdu, further said, “Keeping away the wound of Kashmiris from healing is part of their politics. Their business flourishes with the screams of mothers and sisters. Keeping the blazing fire burning in the valley of Kashmir safeguards their extravagant spending and enjoyment. The path that they show ends in nothing but failure, helplessness and agony.” “…if this jihad is not liberated from the influence of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies, then this night of oppression on the Kashmiri people would not only become long; it would never end,” it said. Mahmood added, “In 2002, when the Indian Army approached the border and showed Pakistan Army a bit of force, the latter became completely submissive… Showing resolve in the face of Indian military pressure and American discontentment is not part of their (Pakistan army’s) doctrine to begin with.”